Electric Smoker OR Landfill: What say you?
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Would a water heater element be suitable or does it need to be from a hot plate? Its generally not hard to find a used George Forman grill at second hand stores, maybe one of those could be used?
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A smoker-build thread seems to have a lot of interest so I will go ahead with it.
Disclaimer, this is for information purposes. If you don’t have the skills or tools to work with electricity and power tools, consider just buying a smoker or getting help from someone who has the skills.I started reviewing different heat sources last night. On other builds I have used 1000 watt single burner hot plate elements and they generally work pretty well with smaller cabinets. On my large smoker build I used a 2400 watt electric oven element .
From past experience in dealing with various sizes of smoker cabinets, I have a general idea how much heat capacity (watts) is needed to work well for smoking. The key general point to know is that the larger the box, the more heating capacity (watts) will be needed to get the contents up to temperature and hold it there.
Another consideration on heating elements is what voltage they operate on. Electric hot plates work on 120 volts which is convenient for a portable smoker that might be used outdoors. My large Kid Killer smoker has a 240 volt oven element but it stays in the basement and is hard wired to a dedicated breaker.
For convenience, with this build, I think I will want it to operate on 120 volts so it can be plugged into any outlet. Since this freezer is a pretty big one, I think it will work better with more heat capacity than a single 1000 watt burner can provide. I am leaning towards using a double burner hot plate that has a 1000 watt and a 750 watt element for a total of 1750 watts.
[link text]https://www.[link removed]/gp/product/B06XV275X1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1(link url)
processhead I’m sure you are aware of this but for some others following your 1750 combined wattage will require a 20 amp circuit as opposed to a 15 amp
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glen is correct.
1750 watts divided by 120 volts is 14.6 amps which along with control circuit loads would exceed a 15 amp breaker’s rating, but would work fine on a circuit with a 20 amp breaker.As it turns out, the dual hot plate I ordered has a combined wattage of 1400 watts which would be 11.7 amps. It should work fine on either a 15 amp or 20 amp household circuit, unless there are some other large loads plugged in on the same circuit. That is something to be aware of with any electric smoker if you find you are tripping the circuit breaker.
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Today I stripped the cooling coil/shelves out of the main cabinet and removed the plastic door shelf assembly and gasket from the door.
On this freezer, the cooling coils are used as shelving units and are interconnected by steel refrigerant lines. My goal is to remove the excess refrigeration lines but retain the shelves because I think after they have been cleaned up, they will work pretty good for things like jerky or fish. I also would like the option to be able to remove them so I can hang product on sticks. It’s good to have options
Since my freezer had developed a leak, all the refrigerant was gone and I could cut the lines without worrying about pressurized refrigerant hazards or releases. Be aware if you are converting a freezer/refrigerator that still has a charge. you should properly evacuate the refrigerant, before cutting into the system. Use PSE and be aware or the hazards before working on a charged system.
I also plan to remove the compressor to lighten up the cabinet.
Note that the plastic shelving unit on the door is attached by screws under the gasket. To remove the shelf, you just take out the screws. With the shelf removed, I can replace it with a sheet metal panel and reassemble using the old screws and door gasket. The plastic parts would eventually melt and could off-gas fumes that don’t belong around food.
Paul
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processhead Awesome idea, thanks for doing this, I am betting a lot of people will get use from this. Surg I am playing around with making a Dry-Curing chamber here.
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
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Today I stripped the cooling coil/shelves out of the main cabinet and removed the plastic door shelf assembly and gasket from the door.
On this freezer, the cooling coils are used as shelving units and are interconnected by steel refrigerant lines. My goal is to remove the excess refrigeration lines but retain the shelves because I think after they have been cleaned up, they will work pretty good for things like jerky or fish. I also would like the option to be able to remove them so I can hang product on sticks. It’s good to have options
Since my freezer had developed a leak, all the refrigerant was gone and I could cut the lines without worrying about pressurized refrigerant hazards or releases. Be aware if you are converting a freezer/refrigerator that still has a charge. you should properly evacuate the refrigerant, before cutting into the system. Use PSE and be aware or the hazards before working on a charged system.
I also plan to remove the compressor to lighten up the cabinet.
Note that the plastic shelving unit on the door is attached by screws under the gasket. To remove the shelf, you just take out the screws. With the shelf removed, I can replace it with a sheet metal panel and reassemble using the old screws and door gasket. The plastic parts would eventually melt and could off-gas fumes that don’t belong around food.
processhead Thanks. Great safety tips and explanation on getting it tore down.
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Today I stripped the cooling coil/shelves out of the main cabinet and removed the plastic door shelf assembly and gasket from the door.
On this freezer, the cooling coils are used as shelving units and are interconnected by steel refrigerant lines. My goal is to remove the excess refrigeration lines but retain the shelves because I think after they have been cleaned up, they will work pretty good for things like jerky or fish. I also would like the option to be able to remove them so I can hang product on sticks. It’s good to have options
Since my freezer had developed a leak, all the refrigerant was gone and I could cut the lines without worrying about pressurized refrigerant hazards or releases. Be aware if you are converting a freezer/refrigerator that still has a charge. you should properly evacuate the refrigerant, before cutting into the system. Use PSE and be aware or the hazards before working on a charged system.
I also plan to remove the compressor to lighten up the cabinet.
Note that the plastic shelving unit on the door is attached by screws under the gasket. To remove the shelf, you just take out the screws. With the shelf removed, I can replace it with a sheet metal panel and reassemble using the old screws and door gasket. The plastic parts would eventually melt and could off-gas fumes that don’t belong around food.
processhead thanks for doing this! Going to be fun watching the progress.
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processhead Awesome idea, thanks for doing this, I am betting a lot of people will get use from this. Surg I am playing around with making a Dry-Curing chamber here.
Jonathon
There are some great videos out there for the dry curing chambers. Everything from a small wine fridge to a big commercial freezer. I really like the idea of using a beverage fridge with the glass door to keep an eye on things. I definitely plan on making one at some point down the road. Just think of all the duck breast prosciutto and then some that you can make if you had one. Good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out. -
I read somewhere to be careful with a glass door unit. I guess they used an infrared light for some reason and were concerned about eye damage. The guy was thinking about a motion sensor to turn off the light if someone was near the unit. I have not researched it enough to say it is a thing or not.
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Surg We’ve actually looked at smaller dry curing chambers more aimed at home processors BUT there are so many moving parts to those things and so many that can go wrong that we are hesitant to go forward with it. Trying to balance affordability with reliability.
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
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Surg We’ve actually looked at smaller dry curing chambers more aimed at home processors BUT there are so many moving parts to those things and so many that can go wrong that we are hesitant to go forward with it. Trying to balance affordability with reliability.
Jonathon said in Electric Smoker OR Landfill: What say you?:
We’ve actually looked at smaller dry curing chambers more aimed at home processors BUT there are so many moving parts to those things and so many that can go wrong that we are hesitant to go forward with it.
Or maybe a kit of items people can use to convert a home fridge?
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Today I stripped the cooling coil/shelves out of the main cabinet and removed the plastic door shelf assembly and gasket from the door.
On this freezer, the cooling coils are used as shelving units and are interconnected by steel refrigerant lines. My goal is to remove the excess refrigeration lines but retain the shelves because I think after they have been cleaned up, they will work pretty good for things like jerky or fish. I also would like the option to be able to remove them so I can hang product on sticks. It’s good to have options
Since my freezer had developed a leak, all the refrigerant was gone and I could cut the lines without worrying about pressurized refrigerant hazards or releases. Be aware if you are converting a freezer/refrigerator that still has a charge. you should properly evacuate the refrigerant, before cutting into the system. Use PSE and be aware or the hazards before working on a charged system.
I also plan to remove the compressor to lighten up the cabinet.
Note that the plastic shelving unit on the door is attached by screws under the gasket. To remove the shelf, you just take out the screws. With the shelf removed, I can replace it with a sheet metal panel and reassemble using the old screws and door gasket. The plastic parts would eventually melt and could off-gas fumes that don’t belong around food.
processhead thanks for doing this. It gives me a little confidence in trying it myself.
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Here is the 1500 watt hotplate I ended up buying for the smoker heat source. I downsized the overall wattage so it would stay under the maximum amperage of a 15 amp 120 volt household circuit. It should still be adequate to heat the freezer cabinet I am using.
I got it from Amazon for about $28.
Since I am going to use an external controller, I wanted to remove the internal thermostat.
Opening up the case of the hot plate you can see the bimetal thermostat with the two red wires connected to the left side and the knob on the outside.I still want some overtemperature connection so I added a klixon type self-resetting 300 degree overtemperature switch where the adjustable t-stat was connected. That way, if there is a malfunction that were to keep the hotplate turned on all the time, the overtemperature switch would offer a measure of safety.
With this change, the hot plate will come on as soon as power is connected to the plug. Later we will talk about how the external temperature controls will switch the power on and off to the plug to regulate the smoker temperature.
EDIT: During testing, I found that the internal temperature of the burner exceeded the rating of the over-temperature switch. The hot plate would come on, and then shut down before the cabinet heated up.
I removed the overtemperature switch from the hot plate and directly wired the power cord to the heating element. This corrected the problem.When using an over temperature switch, install it in the main cabinet away from the heating element.
Paul
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Here is the 1500 watt hotplate I ended up buying for the smoker heat source. I downsized the overall wattage so it would stay under the maximum amperage of a 15 amp 120 volt household circuit. It should still be adequate to heat the freezer cabinet I am using.
I got it from Amazon for about $28.Since I am going to use an external controller, I wanted to remove the internal thermostat.
Opening up the case of the hot plate you can see the bimetal thermostat with the two red wires connected to the left side and the knob on the outside.I still want some overtemperature connection so I added a klixon type self-resetting 300 degree overtemperature switch where the adjustable t-stat was connected. That way, if there is a malfunction that were to keep the hotplate turned on all the time, the overtemperature switch would offer a measure of safety.
With this change, the hot plate will come on as soon as power is connected to the plug. Later we will talk about how the external temperature controls will switch the power on and off to the plug to regulate the smoker temperature.
EDIT: During testing, I found that the internal temperature of the burner exceeded the rating of the over-temperature switch. The hot plate would come on, and then shut down before the cabinet heated up.
I removed the overtemperature switch from the hot plate and directly wired the power cord to the heating element. This corrected the problem.When using an over temperature switch, install it in the main cabinet away from the heating element.
processhead I’m beginning to think I may not be smart enough to do this. Lol. But I’m not giving up yet.
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processhead I’m beginning to think I may not be smart enough to do this. Lol. But I’m not giving up yet.
cdavis said in Electric Smoker OR Landfill: What say you?:
processhead I’m beginning to think I may not be smart enough to do this. Lol. But I’m not giving up yet.
Some guys will just use the hot plate control inside the smoker, but you won’t have the ability to control the temperature as accurately if you do.
Also, you would have to open the door every time you made an adjustment, letting out heat in the process.
Using external controls with the hot plate enables more precise control and is much more convenient.
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Every smoker needs some means of controlling air flow through the chamber. Physics dictates that warm air rises so on a vertical smoker you normally see an air inlet in the bottom which draws ambient air and a discharge opening in the top where warm air and smoke exits. These opening will often has some sort of damper to control the rate of flow.
I will be installing a 4 inch round duct thimble into the top of the smoker which will require cutting a 4 inch diameter hole through an inner and outer layer of sheet metal and about 1 1/2 inch layer of expanding foam that forms the insulating jacket of the old freezer.
Many refrigerators and freezers will have condensing coils installed in the space between the inner and outer layer of the top and sides of the cabinet. This freezer did too and after cutting through the top, I was able to push the lines out of the way to continue all the way through.
I used a 4 inch hole saw to cut the first hole in the top. The hole saw was difficult to control so I used a saber saw with a metal blade to cut the second hole through the inner layer of sheet metal.
I flipped the cabinet over onto it’s top to make the second cut through the inner layer of sheet metal, which is why one of the photos looks upside down.
After I cut the opening, I positioned the thimble in place and sealed it in with expanding foam. My experience with expanding foam is that once it has cured, it forms a very good seal and is mechanically very strong.
The weather cap goes on top and it has a rotating damper plate. The damper plate will regulate the smoke and hot air exiting the top of the smoker.
Paul
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Every smoker needs some means of controlling air flow through the chamber. Physics dictates that warm air rises so on a vertical smoker you normally see an air inlet in the bottom which draws ambient air and a discharge opening in the top where warm air and smoke exits. These opening will often has some sort of damper to control the rate of flow.
I will be installing a 4 inch round duct thimble into the top of the smoker which will require cutting a 4 inch diameter hole through an inner and outer layer of sheet metal and about 1 1/2 inch layer of expanding foam that forms the insulating jacket of the old freezer.
Many refrigerators and freezers will have condensing coils installed in the space between the inner and outer layer of the top and sides of the cabinet. This freezer did too and after cutting through the top, I was able to push the lines out of the way to continue all the way through.
I used a 4 inch hole saw to cut the first hole in the top. The hole saw was difficult to control so I used a saber saw with a metal blade to cut the second hole through the inner layer of sheet metal.
I flipped the cabinet over onto it’s top to make the second cut through the inner layer of sheet metal, which is why one of the photos looks upside down.
After I cut the opening, I positioned the thimble in place and sealed it in with expanding foam. My experience with expanding foam is that once it has cured, it forms a very good seal and is mechanically very strong.
The weather cap goes on top and it has a rotating damper plate. The damper plate will regulate the smoke and hot air exiting the top of the smoker.
processhead Nice Job. There are going to be a lot of people looking at this project.
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Every smoker needs some means of controlling air flow through the chamber. Physics dictates that warm air rises so on a vertical smoker you normally see an air inlet in the bottom which draws ambient air and a discharge opening in the top where warm air and smoke exits. These opening will often has some sort of damper to control the rate of flow.
I will be installing a 4 inch round duct thimble into the top of the smoker which will require cutting a 4 inch diameter hole through an inner and outer layer of sheet metal and about 1 1/2 inch layer of expanding foam that forms the insulating jacket of the old freezer.
Many refrigerators and freezers will have condensing coils installed in the space between the inner and outer layer of the top and sides of the cabinet. This freezer did too and after cutting through the top, I was able to push the lines out of the way to continue all the way through.
I used a 4 inch hole saw to cut the first hole in the top. The hole saw was difficult to control so I used a saber saw with a metal blade to cut the second hole through the inner layer of sheet metal.
I flipped the cabinet over onto it’s top to make the second cut through the inner layer of sheet metal, which is why one of the photos looks upside down.
After I cut the opening, I positioned the thimble in place and sealed it in with expanding foam. My experience with expanding foam is that once it has cured, it forms a very good seal and is mechanically very strong.
The weather cap goes on top and it has a rotating damper plate. The damper plate will regulate the smoke and hot air exiting the top of the smoker.
processhead making progress and looking good
. Thanks for sharing this with us. -
Every smoker needs some means of controlling air flow through the chamber. Physics dictates that warm air rises so on a vertical smoker you normally see an air inlet in the bottom which draws ambient air and a discharge opening in the top where warm air and smoke exits. These opening will often has some sort of damper to control the rate of flow.
I will be installing a 4 inch round duct thimble into the top of the smoker which will require cutting a 4 inch diameter hole through an inner and outer layer of sheet metal and about 1 1/2 inch layer of expanding foam that forms the insulating jacket of the old freezer.
Many refrigerators and freezers will have condensing coils installed in the space between the inner and outer layer of the top and sides of the cabinet. This freezer did too and after cutting through the top, I was able to push the lines out of the way to continue all the way through.
I used a 4 inch hole saw to cut the first hole in the top. The hole saw was difficult to control so I used a saber saw with a metal blade to cut the second hole through the inner layer of sheet metal.
I flipped the cabinet over onto it’s top to make the second cut through the inner layer of sheet metal, which is why one of the photos looks upside down.
After I cut the opening, I positioned the thimble in place and sealed it in with expanding foam. My experience with expanding foam is that once it has cured, it forms a very good seal and is mechanically very strong.
The weather cap goes on top and it has a rotating damper plate. The damper plate will regulate the smoke and hot air exiting the top of the smoker.
-
Every smoker needs some means of controlling air flow through the chamber. Physics dictates that warm air rises so on a vertical smoker you normally see an air inlet in the bottom which draws ambient air and a discharge opening in the top where warm air and smoke exits. These opening will often has some sort of damper to control the rate of flow.
I will be installing a 4 inch round duct thimble into the top of the smoker which will require cutting a 4 inch diameter hole through an inner and outer layer of sheet metal and about 1 1/2 inch layer of expanding foam that forms the insulating jacket of the old freezer.
Many refrigerators and freezers will have condensing coils installed in the space between the inner and outer layer of the top and sides of the cabinet. This freezer did too and after cutting through the top, I was able to push the lines out of the way to continue all the way through.
I used a 4 inch hole saw to cut the first hole in the top. The hole saw was difficult to control so I used a saber saw with a metal blade to cut the second hole through the inner layer of sheet metal.
I flipped the cabinet over onto it’s top to make the second cut through the inner layer of sheet metal, which is why one of the photos looks upside down.
After I cut the opening, I positioned the thimble in place and sealed it in with expanding foam. My experience with expanding foam is that once it has cured, it forms a very good seal and is mechanically very strong.
The weather cap goes on top and it has a rotating damper plate. The damper plate will regulate the smoke and hot air exiting the top of the smoker.
processhead Thanks for the update. Starting to take on it’s new life. Looks great!
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